Willys-Knight: Bold colors unusual for 1930 premium car

By Vern Parker, MOTOR MATTERS

Published
3:00 pm CST, Thursday, November 29, 2018

The Great Six Model 66B had colored fenders, while most of the other cars on the road had black fenders. The Willys-Knight also featured unique pinstriping in a rectangular pattern on the side panels. That unusual striping gave rise to the nickname "Plaidside." (Motor Matters photo)

The Great Six Model 66B had colored fenders, while most of the other cars on the road had black fenders. The Willys-Knight also featured unique pinstriping in a rectangular pattern on the side panels. That

The Great Six Model 66B had colored fenders, while most of the other cars on the road had black fenders. The Willys-Knight also featured unique pinstriping in a rectangular pattern on the side panels. That unusual striping gave rise to the nickname "Plaidside." (Motor Matters photo)

The Great Six Model 66B had colored fenders, while most of the other cars on the road had black fenders. The Willys-Knight also featured unique pinstriping in a rectangular pattern on the side panels. That

Built in Chicago between 1906 and 1909, Silent Knight automobiles were powered by Charles Knight's four-cylinder, 40-horsepower, sleeve-valve engine. These automobiles had weak points, but the engine was its strong point. The $3,500 five-passenger touring car soon joined hundreds of other new lines that failed in the early days of motoring.

By 1914, the Willys-Overland Company obtained a license to build Knight-engined cars. Although the company continued to produce the low-priced Overland with a conventional engine, it used the Knight engine in the mid-priced Willys-Knight until 1932, as the Knight sleeve-valve engine guaranteed a loyal following. However, at the end of the roaring 1920s, the Willys-Knight evolved into a conservatively styled, boxy sort of car with mostly dark blue and black colors.

Amos Northrup, the hot automotive designer of the era, was hired to add pizazz to the Willys-Knight lineup. Bold color combinations, including lime green, yellow, and orange, accentuated the new styling. These were not your everyday car colors back then.

The top-of-the-line model was the Great Six Model 66B, which had colored fenders (while most of the other cars on the road had black fenders). The Willys-Knight also featured unique pinstriping in a rectangular pattern on the side panels. That unusual striping gave rise to the nickname "Plaidside."

Duane Perrin has long admired historical cars powered by the sleeve-valve Knight engine. "The Plaidside roadster is one of the very few Willys-Knights recognized as Full Classics by the Classic Car Club of America," Perrin said.

From the Willys-Knight/Overland Registry he discovered that a rare 1930 Willys-Knight Great Six Model 66B was owned by a Seattle man. Perrin telephoned the owner to see the car.

"That car is so beautiful," Perrin thought when he first saw the roadster. "But, there were a lot of things that weren't right about it," Perrin recalls. Nevertheless, he was thrilled just to be permitted to view the car. Imagine his surprise when the owner solicited a bid for the car. Perrin agonized over his decision. "I hardly slept that night," he said. Morning came and Perrin made the best offer he could and was amazed when it was accepted.

Perrin believes it carried a base price of $1,895 when new at the beginning of the Great Depression. Only 7,409 Willys-Knight Model 66Bs were sold during the 1929-1931 run. They were designed to compete with the bigger Chryslers.

"Exactly how many of them were Plaidside roadsters is unknown," Perrin said, "but it is estimated that fewer than 1,000 were produced." Perrin learned that his roadster had been rescued from a British Columbia junkyard in the mid-1950s.

After an amateur restoration in the 1960s, the car passed through the hands of a few owners, and eventually deteriorated considerably. Consequently, as soon as the Willys-Knight rolled off the truck, Perrin began a general refurbishing and partial restoration.

In a carryover from horse-and-buggy days, the clutch and brake pedals have stirrup-like edges to keep muddy shoes from slipping off the pedals. Oak bows support the top, while glass wing vents direct the air away from beating the occupants. Both doors feature pockets in the leather upholstery. In addition, on the back of the seat is a pouch to hold the side curtains.

The four knobs across the bottom of the dashboard operate, from the left: spark, throttle, choke, and heat riser for the engine. Above the windshield is a single wiper, which although originally vacuum-powered, now works electrically.

Even though the transmission gear shift lever sprouts from the center of the floorboards, the floor-mounted hand brake is squeezed into the space between the driver's left knee and the left side of the car. At the rear of the roadster is a backup light, as well as a brake light that announces "Stop" when illuminated.

Perrin got his Willys-Knight in presentable condition. When he drives the 1930 Plaidside roadster it attracts attention. "Wherever it shows up, it instantly attracts a big crowd," Perrin said.